Wow - that was one savage beating. I would say massacre of the year as opposed to fight of the year. Mayorga quit? That's just crazy - the man took a Gatti level of punishment from one of the hardest punchers in the division. Mayorga has a chin made of iron - I've never seen anyone take punches like that and keep swinging.
Ali may not have been the greatest heavyweight of all time, but Cassius Clay was. It's unfair that Ali is judged by his fights after the 3 year layoff. Watch Clay's fight against Sonny Liston, and then watch Ali dismantle Cleveland Williams - they're things of beauty. I think the Williams fight is the most masterful performance I've ever seen.
I also don't understand how Ali is a pussy. Is it his moral opposition to the War in Vietnam? Because it's clearly not in the ring. To me, that shows far more courage than fear - he challenged the system, and sacrficed the best years of his life for his beliefs. There was absolutely no way Ali's life would be in danger if he actually accepted being drafted - he would be used for USO shows and such, just like Joe Louis in WWII.
I don't think we have to see this one again. The first one was incredibly lopsided, I don't think it would be much different the second time around. Maybe if Trinidad made a fight out of the first one - but he was pretty much manhandled.
Wow - talk about jumping to conclusions after Tito has a fight with a guy who was tailored made for him. Mayorga has Gatti like defense - he comes forward, throws wildly and has iron in his chin. When you do that against a guy with power and skills, like Tito, and are at a weight you've never fought at (showing a loss of power and stamina) you're simply not going to win, (much like how Gatti was destroyed by De la hoya when he moved up).
Based on this fight, people think all of a sudden that Tito can "destroy" De La Hoya - an all time great with incredibly quick hands, solid power and great boxing skills. De la Hoya dominated Trinidad in 8 rounds of their first fight. Trinidad doesn't have a great chin, and he can be hit, especially by a guy with a great jab like De la Hoya. I also love how everyone thinks De la Hoya can't fight at 160 because of his performances against two of the top guys in the division, not to mention one of the best middleweights in history in Hopkins. It's not like Trinidad fared much better against Hopkins - I'd say De la Hoya arguably won more rounds against Hopkins than trinidad did.
I'm not a huge De la Hoya fan, but come on - let's keep this in perspective - Tito's win over Mayorga was impressive, but it in no way suggests that Tito can suddenly destroy the likes of De la Hoya or present a much greater challenge to Hopkins than he did the first fight. It would at least be a strongly competitive bout - no way it would be as easy as against Mayorga.
Yup - I called the scorecards though - there's always some bullshit like that going on in boxing. How anyone could give more than 3 rounds to Morales is ridiculous.
I think MAB has the best chance also, especially seeing how he handled Hamed. MAB's got better D than Morales and he's committed to the body attack, both of which you need against a quick guy like Raheem. Only problem with MAB is that he's undersized.
Pac Man would need to just keep attacking him - and for once put his hands up. Right now he fights like Rocky Balboa. He'd get carved up as is.
Since when did a "clear cut" victory deny a great fighter the right to a rematch? A lot of people demand a Barrera - Pac rematch, and that fight was far more lopsided than Pac - Morales. If that's the standard we're using, might as well say Leonard didn't deserve a rematch against Duran, or Holyfield didn't deserve a rematch against Bowe. These are two great fighters at the top of their games - I think Pac will stand a puncher's chance in any fight, he learns some defense, he's got a shot at Morales. He went the full 12 and lost a close decision, and had Morales hurt at the end. How is another fight lose - lose? I think their last fight brought in more money than any featherweight fight in history - and this would be a better matchup than if Morales moves up in weight
Fight Night is cool - I just hate how stamina basically means nothing in it - you can have heavyweights throwing over 60 haymakers per round, with no ill effects later in the fight. Also, punches do way too little damage when they connect. Heavyweights can get crushed by 4 or 5 straight haymakers and not even be seriously hurt. My favorite boxing game was an old PC game called 4d boxing - I still think it holds up today as one of the most realistic boxing games around.